The present invention relates to a nose cone attachment for an outboard motor propeller gearcase and to a method of attaching a nose cone to an outboard motor propeller gearcase and especially to a nose cone attachment formed of a molded polymer housing positioned to direct water directly into the side cooling inlets for the prop housing.
Marine drives normally include an outboard positioned drive unit which includes a lower gearcase formed at its lower end and mounted to provide a generally horizontal torpedo housing. In some instances, the water intake openings are provided in the upper portion of the gearcase housing above the propeller driveshaft housing. In other instances, the bore of the propeller shaft housing is closed at its forward end by a conical nose member which includes a plurality of water inlet openings on its periphery. A widely available attachment for marine drives are nose cones adapted to fit over the gearcase of a marine drive lower gearcase. The basic purpose of a nose cone is to streamline the gearcase of the propulsion device so as to increase the top speed and improve the handling of the watercraft. Typically, the nose cone is provided with a streamlined frontal portion and a recessed rear portion for accommodating the gearcase, which is substantially a mirror image of the gearcase to which the nose cone is attached. Because different brands of propulsion devices have different gearcase designs and profiles, a number of different molds for forming a nose cone has been required in the past. One prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,709, to Bergeron, attempts to solve this problem with a universal nose cone which has a cavity with a height, width, and depth dimensions to accommodate a plurality of different watercraft lower housings so that once the nose cone has been suitably profiled, the nosecose can be adhesively secured to the gearcase for which it has been profiled with the edge of the cavity engaging the housing to streamline the lower housing to improve performance of the watercraft. Another prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,635, to McCormick, teaches a nose construction for the gearcase of a marine drive which is a part of the marine drive and has a generally cylindrical configuration. This type of nose construction has a plurality of water inlet openings on the nose cone portion of the lower drive shaft of the marine propulsion unit feeding directly into the gearcase.
In the Rocka patent, U.S. Pat. No 3,939,795, an outboard motor protective cover is provided to cover the rudder and propeller shaft portion of the prop unit to increase the strength of the motor parts which are covered and protected against water damage and wear. An opening in the side of the protective cover leaves the side waterlets open to the exterior. Several patents have been directed towards providing intake scoops for water to drive water into the marine drive prop unit for better water cooling. The Lang patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,366, shows a water ram scoop for cooling water intake which provides scoops for better directing the water into the water inlets when the prop unit is moving forward in the water. Each scoop is provided with a water receiving opening leading to a passage for passing water through the scoop towards the water pump. In the B. M. Chandler et al. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,240,181, an outboard motor attachment is attached over the side water inlets and has a tube extending therefrom having a scoop on the end thereof which is twisted around to face the outboard motor propeller for driving water directly into the scoop, through the pipe, and into the water inlets of the outboard motor. In the Karls et al. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,257, a cooling water intake has increased water flow by having water intake plates covering the water inlet opening and having an outer forward lip for directing water into the water inlet openings.
In contrast to these prior patents, the present invention is directed towards a universal nose cone which can be attached to a wide variety of marine propulsion units over the motor prop gearcase to form a more aerodynamic nose cone on the prop and simultaneously to scoop water from the front of the nose cone through the nose done attachment into the side water inlets for greater cooling and to thereby convert the lower prop unit from one having water intake openings on the upper portion of the gearcase to one having a plurality of water inlets located on the forward end of a conical nose member and to substantially increase the cooling of the engine.